Democratic Erosion University Course Student Blog

Students enrolled in our course are encouraged to write for the course blog, and to read and comment on posts from students at other participating universities. The blog offers students the opportunity to analyze current events through the lens of the theory and case studies they engage with through the course.

These blogs reflect the views of the student authors, and not those of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

Resistances to Democratic Backsliding in Indonesia

Indonesia has experienced continuous democratic backsliding since 2017. Despite pervasive executive aggrandizement and other continuing challenges, domestic actors have worked from above and below to resist democratic erosion. This post focuses on student movements,...

Recent President Sets Back El Salvador

How Bukele’s presidency has affected El Salvador’s regime.

America stuck in a Dilemma

America currently facing democratic erosion allegations.

Do It Anyway: Why America’s Checks & Balances Are Failing

Apr 29, 2026 | Suffolk University

One of the main campaign promises made by the Trump campaign was to bring prices down for everyday Americans. He promised (and failed to deliver) sweeping economic reforms,...

Protecting Democracy: Indigenous-led Social Movements in Guatemala 2023

Apr 29, 2026 | Tulane University

In 2023, presidential elections were held in Guatemala, and the country chose to protect democracy. With a longstanding history of corruption entrenched throughout the...

How Democracy Erodes: A Comparison between the U.S. and Brazil

Apr 23, 2026 | Suffolk University

Both the United States under President Trump and Brazil under Jair Bolsonaro experienced a period of anti-democratic rhetoric. That led to the decline of significant indicators of stable democratic...

Why The Save Act Misses The Mark

Apr 22, 2026 | Suffolk University

The current administration's push for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act has become yet another polarizing topic between the left and the right. The SAVE America Act...

The Election That May Save Hungary’s Democracy

Apr 21, 2026 | Suffolk University

"Today we won because the Hungarian people didn't ask what their country could do for them, but what they could do for their country," -Péter Magyar Hungary just held its most consequential election...

Misinformation: The Role it Plays in the Persistence of the 2020 Election

Apr 21, 2026 | Suffolk University

Democratic stability not only relies on fair elections, but on the shared belief of their legitimacy. The controversy surrounding the 2020 United States presidential election demonstrates just how...

Syria’s “transition” Is Creating a New Authoritarianism-Not Democracy.

Apr 21, 2026 | Suffolk University

Syria is often referred to as a country in transition. That is deceiving A transition implies progress toward something better—usually democracy. However, Syria's present political trajectory points...

What Peter Magyar’s Win Means for Democracy in Hungary

Apr 21, 2026 | Suffolk University

“We have liberated Hungary and have taken back our country,” said Peter Magyar, announcing his landmark victory against strongman Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Orbán’s striking defeat marks a new era...

Democratic Erosion in Bolivia: A Case of Gradual Internal Decline

Apr 21, 2026 | George Mason University

Changes in Bolivia's Democracy V-Dem. (2025). Political regime (Bolivia). Our World in Data. This chart shows the changes in Bolivia’s political regime throughout history. The data indicate that...

Democratic Backsliding: Be Observant

Apr 20, 2026 | Suffolk University

Setting the Stage for Autocracy Democratic backsliding is nothing if not the gradual death of democracy. Democracy is eroded through incremental steps taken by the dominant political party to...

Propaganda, The Iran War, and Democratic Erosion

Apr 20, 2026 | Suffolk University

The U.S. response to the Iran conflict demonstrates how propaganda and narrative manipulation transform foreign policy into a domestic political tool, contributing to democratic erosion by...